Video: Preseason High School Baseball Top 10 - No. 4 Park Vista (FL)Photos from the Cobras' preseason shoot.The Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings include six teams that will participate in the National High School Invitational this week, including a titanic first-round matchup between No. 2 JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and No. 4 Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.).
Both JSerra Catholic and Mosley enter the tournament undefeated. JSerra has started the season 6-0 against three of the best programs in Southern California while Mosley is 12-0.
Other teams playing in the NHSI include No. 5 College Station (Texas), No. 6 San Clemente (Calif.), No. 24 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Puyallup (Wash.).
St. Thomas Aquinas is one of six teams that joined the Xcellent 25 this week. The other five include Summerville (S.C.), Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.), Bryant (Ark.), Alexander (Laredo, Texas) and Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.).
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings
1. (last week 1) Olympia (Orlando, Fla.), 13-0
The Titans picked up three wins last week, outscoring their opponents 31-2 to remain undefeated.
Drenis Ozuna was 2-for-2 with a grand slam home run while
Jordan Morrow had a pair of doubles in an 18-1 win over Evans. Olympia played Evans later in the week and won 9-0. In a 4-1 win over Winter Park,
Michael Byrne struck out 12 while
Juan Hillman belted a double. Olympia plays in the Florida League Invitational this week.
2. (2) JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 6-0
The Lions have faced three of the top programs in Southern California to open the season and they remain unscathed after a pair of wins over Huntington Beach and Cypress. Last week JSerra took two wins from Loyola.
Royce Lewis continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs in an 8-3 win over Huntington Beach.
Chase Strumpf blasted a triple and a double in a 5-2 win over the Oilers while
Sam Cohen had two doubles.
Ryan Pena and
Brady Shockey each homered in a 7-4 win over Cypress while
Davis Wendzel had a double and a home run in a 16-5 win.
3. (3) Park Vista (Lake Worth, Fla.), 15-1
The Cobras won three times last week, including a pair of shutouts. In a 1-0 win over Gulf Coast,
Austin Smith threw a complete-game one-hitter with nine strikeouts. In an 8-0 win over West Boca,
Colin Smith and
Matthew Mika each hit home runs.
Tyler Constable gave up three this and struck out nine for the shutout win. The Cobras completed the week with a 5-4 win over Wellington.
Tyler Huggins had a walk-off single to win it.
4. (5) Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.), 12-0
The Dolphins set up a big meeting against JSerra Catholic on Wednesday in the first round of the National High School Invitational by staying undefeated with two wins last week. In a 4-2 win over Fort Walton Beach,
Dillon Brown was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and
Garrett Breland knocked in two runs with a triple. Brown knocked in three runs and was the winning pitcher in a 7-1 win over Rutherford.
Micheal Cullen added a double and a triple.
5. (6) College Station (Texas), 11-1-1
The Cougars won twice in district play, beating Willis 3-0 and Bryan Rudder 7-1. College Station has a scheduled game against Bryan on Tuesday before traveling to North Carolina to play Trinity Prep (Fla.) in the first round of the National High School Invitational.
6. (8) San Clemente (Calif.), 8-0
Lucas Herbert, San Clemente
File photo by Heston Quan
The Tritons captured three more wins, including a 3-2 victory over Pacifica in 10 innings.
Lucas Herbert and
Will Tribucher each had three this in the win. Herbert also added a home run and two RBIs in a 5-1 win over Pacifica. San Clemente also downed Trabuco Hills 6-1. All-American candidate
Kolby Allard missed the game due to tightness in his back, according to the Orange County Register, and will be out six to eight weeks. He will miss the Tritons' trip to the National High School Invitational. San Clemente opens against Lambert (Suwanee, Ga.), the MaxPreps preseason No. 1 team.
7. (9) Sulphur (La.), 18-0
Sulphur picked up five more wins last week to stay undefeated. The Golden Tornadoes defeated Byrd 4-1, Florien 11-1, Haughton 5-4, Parkway 8-0 and Airline 7-3.
Kale Breaux struck out 13 in the win over Byrd. Breaux is 4-0 on the season and has allowed just one earned run on five hits with 54 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched. Sulphur opens league play against defending national champion Barbe this week.
8. (11) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 4-0
The Gaels took a pair of wins from the defending California Southern Section Division I champion Santa Margarita 8-4 and 15-2.
Beau Capanna went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in the first game and he went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs in the second game.
Cadyn Grenier also added a triple and a home run while
Brandon Wulff had a double and three RBIs and
Grant Robbins had two doubles and three RBIs.
9. (12) St. Rita (Chicago), 3-0
St. Rita is off to a strong start, winning its first three games by nine runs or more. In a 13-3 win over Oak Lawn,
Tyler Halas had a double and two RBIs. He added a home run and a double with four RBIs in a 10-1 win over Morton West. Halas also got the pitching win in an 11-1 win over Glenbrook North.
10. (13) Pearland (Texas), 15-1-1
The Oilers won three times last week, including a 6-0 shutout win over Alvin.
Brady Basso pitched five innings and struck out four in the win. In an 8-4 win over Dawson,
Brendon Owens went five innings and struck out eight.
Ryan Diaz went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a triple in a 12-3 win over Sam Rayburn.
11. (14) Dana Hills (Dana Point, Calif.), 11-1
The Dolphins rattled off three wins since losing to San Clemente two weeks ago, beating Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 2-0, and Valencia (Calif.) 6-3 and 5-4.
Marrick Crouse got the win against Tesoro, going seven innings and striking out nine. He also went 2-for-2 at the plate.
12. (19) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 12-0
The Dragons won their only game of the week, beating Arlington Heights 4-0.
Nic Motley had a home run and
Matthew Canterino was the winning pitcher.
13. (23) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 13-1
The Bears avenged their only loss with a 5-0 win over Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.). Buchanan also defeated Clovis East 8-5 in eight innings early in the week.
14. (NR) Summerville (S.C.), 8-0
The Green Wave is off to a strong start against some of the top teams in the state. Summerville has already defeated Lexington, Wando and defending Class 4A state champion Sumter.
15. (NR) Alexander (Laredo, Texas), 10-0
Pitching has been the key for the Bulldogs, who have a team ERA of 0.60 with just five earned runs allowed in 10 games.
Aldo Buendia and
Pablo Ortiz are both 3-0 to start the season.
16. (NR) Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.), 13-0
The Dorados have the top record in Division 2 in Arizona. They have outscored their opponents 137-24 in building the best record in the state.
17. (NR) Bryant (Ark.), 7-0
The defending Class 7A state champions have won 35 straight games, thanks to a 28-game win streak to end the 2014 season and a 7-0 start to 2015.
18. (NR) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 11-1
The Chargers' only loss of the season is to undefeated San Clemente. Edison picked up a 6-5 win over rival Huntington Beach last week.
19. (15) Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), 10-2
The Panthers lost to Brookwood 3-2 early in the week, but bounced back to beat Berkmar 15-0 and Central Gwinnett 13-0.
Daino Deas went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs against Central Gwinnett while
Garrett Fowler and
Brandon Hill both hit home runs against Berkmar.
20. (7) Fayetteville (Ark.), 8-1
The Purple Dogs lost in the second round of the Coach Bob Invitational, falling to O'Connor (Ariz.) 1-0. Fayetteville opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over Mullen (Colo.) and continued play on Monday and Tuesday. Earlier in the week, Fayetteville took two from Springdale, 5-0 and 9-1.
Andy Pagnozzi struck out 14 in the shutout win while
Grant Koch added a home run. Koch also homered in the other game of the doubleheader.
21. (16) Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.), 10-1
The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Bellarmine Prep (San Jose), however Valley Christian responded with a pair of shutout wins. The Warriors topped Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 7-0 and Serra (San Mateo, Calif.), 1-0.
Kyle Marinconz had two doubles against Sacred Heart Cathedral and freshman
Patrick Wicklander went 4.2 innings against Serra, striking out five, but did not get the decision.
22. (20) Charles Henderson (Troy, Ala.), 20-1
Charles Henderson lost to Trinity Presbyterian early in the week and then swept a three-game series from Greenville to clinch a playoff berth for the 17th straight season. The team has already hit 16 home runs on the season with
Chase Smartt batting .547 with 33 RBIs, 14 doubles and three home runs.
Nick Lewis is batting .508 while
Austin Ingram has four home runs.
23. (22) Brandon (Miss.), 11-1
Brandon played Petal twice last week, winning 6-3 early in the week and falling 10-9 in eight innings on Friday.
Hunter Wilson had a double and a home run in the win.
24. (NR) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 11-1
The Raiders head into the National High School Invitational on a roll with 10 straight wins, including four shutouts. St. Thomas Aquinas opens the NHSI with Huntington Beach (Calif.) on Wednesday.
25. (10) Puyallup (Wash.), 2-1
The Vikings saw their 30-game win streak come to an end with a 3-2 loss to Wenatchee. Puyallup also defeated Olympia (Wash.) 3-1 in eight innings earlier in the week. Puyallup will play in the National High School Invitational this week, opening with Leesville Road.
Dropped out: No. 4 Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), No. 17 Haines City (Fla.), No. 18 Alonso (Tampa, Fla.), No. 21 Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), No. 24 Winter Haven (Fla.), No. 25. Kennesaw Mountain (Kennesaw, Ga.).
